Columnist Wood: 'Islamic State' Could Cause Spike in Oil Prices

The possibility of crude oil prices hitting $120 a barrel depends in part on the ambitions of the new "Islamic state" declared by Sunni insurgents holding a swath of oil-rich Iraq, columnist L. Todd Wood told Newsmax TV on Wednesday.

"They have a good portion of Iraq," Wood, author of "Delta," told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner. "They're banging on the door of the kingdoms — meaning Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait."

Wood said those four countries, combined, represent "a huge percentage" of global oil production. If the founders of the new Islamist caliphate press on toward Iraq's capital, Baghdad, and into the petro-monarchies, "I believe you will see an immediate spike in the crude oil price," he said.

A ripple effect on U.S. gas prices, which are already heading upward, would likely follow. The only question is how quickly, Wood said.

"It's all real-time, based on what is happening in the Middle East," he said.

It's times like these when America's lack of a comprehensive energy strategy really galls, said Wood.

"We have under our feet 1.4 trillion or more barrels of oil that America can harvest, and much more natural gas," he said, calling himself "frustrated" as to "why we are not utilizing this godsend of a resource that has come our way."

"We could be energy-independent in a few decades if we wanted to, but this government does not want to because of an agenda that is against hydrocarbons," Wood said.